Jay Niemann has been in football for more than 30 years, coaching at seven different schools in all three NCAA Divisions before arriving in Piscataway to take charge as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Rutgers under Chris Ash.But despite all his experience and wisdom, he’s facing a challenge he’s never had before — replacing all three starting linebackers.“Don’t think I have, don’t think I have,” Niemann said of his new challenge.

When head football coach Chris Ash made it known he and offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer planned on implementing the spread offense, few members of the Rutgers football team were as excited as sophomore quarterback Giovanni Rescigno. The Warren, Michigan, native came to the Banks with a profile of a dual-threat quarterback after throwing for 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for 512 yards and five touchdowns in his senior season of high school.

Four of the 19 recruits who signed their National Letters of Intent to join the Rutgers football team on National Signing Day have already enrolled at the University. They are taking advantage of their early start.

With a new offense installed under the first-year coaching staff of Chris Ash in Piscataway, Rutgers and offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer evaluate the future of a wide-open quarterback competition.

With less than a month until National Signing Day, Rutgers head football coach Chris Ash and his staff are on the move.Taking on the full-time duties since his stint as co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State culminated earlier in the month with the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day, Ash and his assistants are on the clock with recruitment for prospects in the class of 2016.After the most recent casualty came with Elite 11 quarterback Anthony Russo announcing via Twitter his decommitment from the Scarlet Knights, Rutgers has just 13 verbal commitments lined up as the dead period for recruiting wraps up.Ash, however, has hit the ground running looking to fill the void. In the span of 24 hours, Rutgers offered three dual-threat quarterbacks in the class of 2016.

In a season full of dark times on and off the field, the Rutgers football team delivered an instant classic when it traveled out to the Midwest for its sixth game of the season.Reeling on the heels of a heartbreaking 31-24 loss to then-No. 4 Michigan State — the eventual Big Ten Champion and 3-seed in the 2015 College Football Playoff — the Scarlet Knights had the return of head coach Kyle Flood to look forward to in the Oct.

As soon as Chris Ash took the podium, it was easy to see why University President Robert L. Barchi and Athletic Director Patrick Hobbs hired the energetic 41-year-old co-defensive coordinator from Ohio State as the next head football coach at Rutgers.With a jam-packed team room at the Hale Center flooded with journalists, cameras and other onlookers waiting for the Scarlet Knights' next head coach to speak, Ash might have very well won his opening press conference from the moment he took the podium."I'm gonna try to lighten this room up a little bit," he said after thanking Hobbs for introducing him. "There's a lot of serious looks in here and we've gotta get some smiles going here at Rutgers right now."If his first impression was any indication, Ash could be the one to turn the Rutgers football community's frowns upside-down.After his Memorandum of Agreement was signed in an approval meeting with the Board of Governors on Old Queens Campus in New Brunswick, Ash arrived at the football program's training facility at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway and made a splash in his introductory press conference.His contract will pay him a base salary of $2 million annually over the next five years, with a $100,000 increase in each year starting March 1, 2017, to headline other incentives of the deal.He takes over after Kyle Flood's four-year tenure where he went 27-24 with three bowl appearances, but with hopes of getting the Knights back on track after a tumultuous 2015 season where they regressed in a 4-8 season with a 1-7 record in their second year in the Big Ten Conference.Even more so, Rutgers aims for Ash to straighten up a program that saw seven players arrested over the course of the season with two investigations — one where the head coach, Flood, was suspended for three games with a $50,000 fine for impermissible contact with a faculty member.But Barchi, who placed his trust in his newly-appointed athletic director to make the best decision for the future of the football program, knew all along that Ash was the perfect fit."Over the course of the last week, I've had the chance to spend a fair amount of time with Chris (Ash) and I have to say that I have come to the firm belief that he is the right person for this job," Barchi said.

Thirty minutes into Senior Day at High Point Solutions Stadium on Saturday, the Rutgers football team appeared to be putting together its best performance all season.The Scarlet Knights looked to be well on their way to a lopsided win over Maryland, leading the Terrapins 31-13 after two quarters. Senior wide receiver Leonte Carroo was healthy and proved it with five catches for 132 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

With the search for the new Rutgers head football coach underway, University President Robert L. Barchi refuted any reports that he has already offered any of the candidates for the job.In an exclusive interview with The Daily Targum's editorial board on Monday afternoon, Barchi fielded both on-the-record and off-the-record questions relating to the Scarlet Knights' vacant head coaching position, giving insight to where the administration looks to go in the hiring process."Things in college sports, especially with the big coaches in football and basketball, tend to happen pretty quickly and they happen very privately," Barchi told the Targum.

The two pillars of the Rutgers football program for the 2015 season have fallen. Head coach Kyle Flood and Athletic Director Julie Hermann were relieved of their duties today, according to a statement released by University President Robert L. Barchi.

Right when the Rutgers football team's 2015 season appeared it couldn't have gotten any worse, Saturday's finale proved there is a low point deeper than rock bottom.After a first half in which they dominated, the Scarlet Knights somehow found a way to blow a 21-point lead and choke away Senior Day at High Point Solutions Stadium in a mesmerizing 46-41 defeat at the hands of Maryland."I just left a really emotional, really heartbroken group of seniors and football team," said head coach Kyle Flood at his postgame press conference.